The Spanish Congress vote on 2 October 2026 brought an end to a new package of measures affecting rental contracts, lease extensions, evictions and real estate investment in Spain.
On 2 October 2026, Spain’s Congress of Deputies rejected two government housing decrees - Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 and Royal Decree-Law 27/2026. Both had been published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) immediately before the vote and had already entered into force. However, Congress refused to ratify them, causing the measures to lose legal effect. Here is what has changed and what the decision means for Spain’s real estate market.
The first decree - Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 - was rejected by 178 votes to 172. PP, Vox, Junts and UPN voted against it. The second decree received even less support, with 184 votes against and 166 in favour; PNV and Coalición Canaria also voted against the second package.
As a result, the new measures introduced by the two decrees are no longer in force, and the previous legal framework continues to apply.
Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 included a broad package of changes affecting residential rentals, evictions, taxation and real estate investment.
Among its most significant provisions was an extraordinary two-year extension for certain existing rental contracts due to expire before the end of 2028, together with mechanisms allowing the suspension of evictions involving vulnerable tenants without alternative accommodation until the end of 2030.
The decree also introduced temporary restrictions on annual rent increases until 31 December 2027. Where an existing rent was already above the maximum level established under the official reference system, no increase would have been permitted. In other cases, the parties could agree on a rent adjustment, but in the absence of an agreement, the increase could not exceed 2%. Following the rejection of the decree, this temporary mechanism no longer applies.
Another section focused on seasonal and room rentals. The Government sought to introduce stricter national criteria for temporary rental contracts and prevent them from being used as substitutes for permanent residential leases. Additional restrictions were also proposed for the combined rent charged when a property was rented by individual rooms.
Royal Decree-Law 27/2026 was particularly significant for property owners.
The decree substantially changed the rules governing the expiry of long-term residential rental agreements.
Once the statutory minimum rental period had expired - five years where the landlord was an individual and seven years where the landlord was a legal entity - the contract could have been automatically extended for another equivalent period unless specific legal grounds justified its termination.
Landlords would also have been required to give at least six months’ notice if they did not intend to renew the contract.
One of the most significant provisions required landlords who refused to renew without a legally recognised reason to compensate the tenant with an amount equivalent to 12 months of rent for a comparable property.
Following the rejection of the decree, this system of automatic extensions and mandatory compensation no longer applies.
Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 did not only affect private landlords. It also introduced measures aimed at professional real estate market participants.
The Government proposed temporary restrictions on companies acquiring residential properties or mortgage portfolios at prices below 70% of their appraised market value. Certain transactions of this type were to be restricted until the end of 2028.
The decree also proposed changes to the tax regime applicable to SOCIMIs - Spain’s listed real estate investment companies - intended to encourage a larger share of their residential portfolios to be allocated to affordable rental housing.
With Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 no longer in force, these proposed measures have also ceased to apply.
It is important to distinguish between the two rejected decrees and the housing legislation that was already in force.
The Congress vote does not repeal Spain’s existing system of designated stressed residential market areas - zonas de mercado residencial tensionado - and it does not repeal Spain’s Housing Law 12/2023.
Barcelona and many other municipalities in Catalonia therefore remain subject to specific restrictions governing new residential rental contracts.
Depending on the circumstances, the rent under a new contract may continue to be linked to the rent charged under the previous lease, while large landlords and certain properties remain subject to the state reference rent system.
For this reason, it would be incorrect to describe the 2 October vote as a complete liberalisation of Barcelona’s rental market.
What has disappeared are the additional restrictions that the Government attempted to introduce at the end of September 2026. The existing regulatory framework for residential rentals in Catalonia remains in force.
In the short term, the decision removes several new obligations that could have materially affected the management of rental properties.
Landlords will not have to comply with the proposed rule requiring compensation equivalent to 12 months of rent solely because they decide not to renew a rental agreement at the end of its statutory term.
The proposed automatic extension of leases for another five or seven years will also not apply.
The temporary system limiting certain annual rent increases to 2% in the absence of an agreement between the parties has likewise ceased to apply.
However, landlords must still comply with Spain’s existing Urban Leases Act, Housing Law 12/2023 and, for properties in Catalonia, the relevant regional regulations and the status of the municipality as a stressed residential market area.
For real estate investors, the parliamentary vote means that several planned restrictions and tax changes have not become part of the permanent legal framework.
These include restrictions on certain purchases by professional investors at prices substantially below appraised values, as well as the proposed changes affecting SOCIMIs.
For anyone purchasing an investment property in Barcelona, however, one fundamental consideration remains unchanged: the economics of the investment depend not only on the purchase price and expected yield, but also on the type of rental contract, the status of the landlord, any previous lease and whether the property is located within a stressed residential market area.
Investment returns should therefore be calculated using not only potential market rent, but also the legally permissible rent and the specific regulatory conditions affecting the property.
The rejection of the two decrees does not bring Spain’s housing policy debate to an end.
The Government may introduce new legislative proposals or attempt to negotiate revised measures with parliamentary groups. Junts, for example, called for a different housing package and proposed removing several provisions contained in the rejected decrees.
The regulatory environment surrounding residential rentals, temporary leases and real estate investment therefore remains subject to further change.
For property owners and buyers, this reinforces the importance of making investment decisions based on the legislation actually in force at the time of a transaction rather than on proposals still under political discussion.
The 2 October 2026 vote was a significant development for Spain’s property market. The two packages of additional housing measures failed to secure sufficient support in Congress, meaning that provisions ranging from automatic lease extensions and tenant compensation to new rent restrictions and measures affecting professional investors did not remain in force.
At the same time, the existing rental regulations in Barcelona and Catalonia remain unchanged.
For property owners, buyers and investors, this makes a detailed analysis of each individual property essential - including its location, existing rental agreement, landlord status, applicable rent restrictions and intended use.
GG Real Estate Group monitors changes in Spanish real estate legislation and analyses their impact on property owners, buyers and investors.
